Inaugural event promotes desert safety

  • Published
  • By Gary Hatch
  • 95th Air Base Wing Public Affairs
EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. --  Booths, displays and information stations designed to give Team Edwards the summer lowdown on the high desert on how to live, work and play safely in this sometimes hostile environment marked the base's inaugural Desert Safety Day, Wednesday in the Base Exchange food court.

Event organizers hope to make this an annual event, holding it near Memorial Day next year to coincide with the kick off of the 101 Critical Days of Summer.

The idea for Desert Safety Day came through meetings between the Air Force Flight Test Center Safety Office and Environmental Management, said event organizer Rebecca Hobbs, a base cleanup program manager from Environmental Management who was a safety engineer before coming to Edwards.

"Being informed is being prepared. We are always looking for ways to make it easy for people to receive the information they need," Ms. Hobbs said. "We invited base experts on different aspects of desert safety to participate. They will help ensure base workers and residents understand how to enjoy the desert safely, while also keeping the desert safe."

Nine base organizations teamed up to offer advice on a various timely summertime tips for the event:

Public Health -- discussed West Nile virus and summertime food safety; Bioenvironmental -- provided tips on heat stress, its signs and symptoms and treatment; Safety -- discussed items that a person should keep in the car and how to protect from flash floods; Environmental Management -- discussed protection from venomous snakes; what to do with injured wildlife and the importance of protecting the lakebed; Civil Engineering -- discussed mosquito abatement and pest management; Muroc Green Knights Motorcycle Club -- discussed motorcycle safety; APET -- provided tips on keeping pets safe in the desert; Range Safety -- discussed the importance of not touching shiny objects anywhere because they might be unexploded ordnance; and the Fire Department -- discussed fire safety information.